Venice Canals: New sluice gates and controls

Newly repaired sluice gates in the Venice Canals were unveiled in a ceremony Tuesday, June 13th.

The gates, also known as tidal gates, were completed a year and a half ahead of schedule and will help provide better water quality and improve wetland vegetation within the Venice Canals, said Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who joined city officials and the Venice Canals Association at the unveiling.

The canals were restored in the early 1990s by the City of Los Angeles. As part of the restoration project, five new sluice gates and a new gate control system were installed on the Grand Canal at Washington Boulevard.

The gates — operated and maintained by the city Bureau of Street Services — are opened at high and low tide to allow sea water to flow into and out of the canals, which creates a flushing action and prevents stagnation.

Over the past 12 years, several of the sluice gates deteriorated to the point that they no longer opened and closed properly, which allowed water to leak through them and put the community at risk during extremely high tides and severe storms, Rosendahl said.

Rosendahl said he worked closely with the city Bureau of Street Services and members of the Venice Canals Association to ensure that the sluice gates were fully operational.

Rosendahl presented Tim Ory, electrician supervisor for the Bureau of Street Services, with a commendation certificate during the ceremony and praised the timely repair of the gates.

“I would like to thank Tim Ory and the Bureau of Street Services for their commitment to the community,” Rosendahl said. “This repair is essential to protecting the community and providing proper care for our canals.

“This swift repair would not be possible without the collaboration of community leaders and city staff,” Rosendahl said. “I would like to thank the Venice Canals Association and my Venice field deputy, Mark Antonio Grant, for the hard work and commitment shown on this project.”

“This urgent repair would not have been possible if it were not for the close working relationship with Bill Rosendahl, who made it happen,” Parkos said. “What took us more than ten years to work on, they were able to get done in six months.”

Recognized as a historic landmark locally and nationally, the Venice Canals provide public boating recreation to residents and tourists alike. The urban wetland celebrates its centennial anniversary this year.